I was Right Here All Along
by Secretly Cresselia
Summary: Join an adventure of Chris and Aviva's past before the Wild Kratts, and a slight AOT reference towards the end, though this is not a crossover! From the moment they were little up until their college years, Chris and Aviva were inseparable, however, there were some bumps in the road, even a pothole. [Chris x Aviva ]


**A/N: I was watching a music video on TV, and it totally inspired me to write this little one shot-ish type thing. I just loved it, so I decided to write a little Caviva based on it! YAY! Enjoy! Also, if scenes seem a bit jumpy, like they go from this, to that, it's because that's what the music video gave me, and I couldn't really work on those scenes because there was so little to work with. Sorry!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wild Kratts!**

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><p>The ball flew across the school's courtyard, followed by a group of young boys chasing it in a game of improvised soccer. A few other children in that courtyard skipped and played with each other, except for one girl, watching the soccer game. She had her hair in two black braids, a yellow backpack hanging at her shoulders. The little girl cheered and clapped, calling out one of the boys' name in hopes that he will win. The girl wore the school's uniform: a white button up shirt with a navy blue skirt and high navy socks, and a red knitted sweater.<p>

The boy she was rooting for stood out from the group of boys he played with because he was taller than them. The group of smaller boys pointed to the girl, one of them holding the soccer ball.

"Look, Chris! Looks like you have a fan!" one of them laughed. "C'mon, say hi to her!"

In all honesty, those boys didn't like her because she was quiet and smart. The taller boy only stared at her.

"Fine then!" the boy holding the ball huffed.

The boy then threw the soccer ball into the air, kicking it when it was in range. The ball flew through the air, hitting the poor girl watching on the side. Such a powerful kick caused the ball to knock the bystander girl down to the cement ground. She cried out in surprise as she fell. The Chris boy frowned as he saw her fall. Despite it, the girl sat up, brushing off her hands that supported her up when she fell. Chris decided to pick up the ball next to her and apologize.

As Chris bent over, a woman in black and white and sporting high heels walked over casually. The group of small boys in baseball caps that Chris was with saw the woman and ran away; that woman was their teacher.

"Chris! Watch out! It's the teacher!" they shouted as they turned and ran.

"Huh?" Chris looked back to the group, confused.

By the time Chris faced the girl, she was already standing up, brushing off the sleeves of the scarlet red sweater.

"Aviva? What's wrong?" The teacher asked, however, neither student needed to reply as the teacher saw the ball in Chris' hand. "Oh my! Aviva, are you okay?"

"N-nothing, miss. I'm fine," the girl shook her head gently. Her braids didn't even move.

Aviva turned away shyly as the teacher scolded Chris. Aviva knew it wasn't Chris who did it, but she was too scared to say anything.

"Now, Chris, you know it's not okay to hit somebody with the ball...!" The teacher was saying, but Chris only watched as Aviva walked away.

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><p>The school bell rang, signaling the end of the treacherous school day. That little group of boys in baseball caps were the first ones at, full on sprinting out of the classroom. The teacher followed them out, as she had nothing to do at the school either. Many other students spilled out, yet Aviva was the last one to leave. She held her yellow backpack out in front of her, loosely hugging it to her stomach. Aviva was too busy organizing all her school supplies before she had any time to pack up. She had shoved everything in her backpack, yet didn't have time to put it on. She looked down at the ground as she went along. Aviva felt guilty for letting Chris get in trouble. She didn't get very far before that group of boys Chris hung out with stopped Aviva in her tracks.<p>

Silently, she tried to sidestep out of the way, but they shifted positions with her.

"No way, where do you think you're going?" they sneered.

"None of your business," Aviva practically whispered.

One of the boys snuck off to the side of the group, crouching low as his friends distracted the girl. Aviva was taller than them; she could beat up if she tried, but her quiet nature denied this option to her. In the blink of an eye, the crouching boy snatched the backpack from Aviva's loose hold on it.

"Hey!" Aviva whipped around as the boy ran off with her backpack.

The other boys began to ran off with that sneaky boy. Aviva huffed and bit her bottom lip as she glared after them, knowing she wouldn't catch up to them anyway. Oh, how she hated those boys! They were just jealous of her...one day, she'll show them...

The group of boys ran out of the school and down the flight of steps that led to the school building. It was a rainy day, the rain pouring over their heads, but the roof on stilts prevented the raindrops from splashing onto their heads. They tossed the backpack around, laughing and shoving each other as they congratulated one another.

"Nice one!"

"She didn't even see it coming!"

"Did you see her face?!"

However, Chris was at the end of the steps, and once he saw that backpack, he knew it was Aviva's. The small group saw Chris and stopped their roughhousing, becoming quiet and appeared to be afraid.

"C'mon, don't be jerks," Chris held out his arm. "Give me the backpack back!"

There was a brief silence before the group of boys burst into laughter, Chris glaring at them with an eyebrow raised. Two of the boys, the leaders of the group, reversed their baseball caps, visors to the back. They needed to see for what they needed to do next, however, the other boys weren't so sure about this improvised idea.

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><p>Aviva sat at the back of the school building, head resting on her knees and arms wrapped around her legs. What would she do now? Her backpack had everything - her money, her homework...<p>

A flash of bright yellow before her face caught her attention. Her backpack...?

Aviva looked up and saw Chris with a weak smile on his face. A dark purple bruise covered his left eye. It took a moment for Aviva to register what happened. She reached out and took her backpack, resting it against her legs.

"Thank you," she said, her eyes following him as he walked away with a nod.

Aviva saw Chris touch the bruise on his eye. He had fought to get her backpack back...

The very next day, Chris gently dropped the soccer ball into Aviva's hands. She was sitting down near the school building with an open book in her lap.

"C'mon! I'll teach you how to play!" Chris offered, pointing to the empty courtyard.

"Really?" Aviva beamed.

"Yeah! C'mon!" Chris grabbed her hand, forcing her up.

After an eventful one-on-one soccer game, Chris and Aviva worked together in class.

"Hey, check this out!" Chris proudly showed off a new drawing in his notebook.

"Wow! Looks great!" Aviva smiled.

Aviva looked onto the pages of Chris' notebook. It was filled with all sorts of drawings.

_'Wow...he sure likes to draw...!' _Aviva gasped silently.

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><p>The two teenagers walked up a hill to their school. It was the same school as ever, just different areas and buildings. They held pieces of bread in their hands as they walked side by side. Aviva ripped a piece of the bread off and shoved it in her mouth as Chris took a bite out of his.<p>

"Like it?" Chris smirked.

"What?" Aviva turned to face him. "It's just a piece of bread we bought at the bakery on our way!"

"But it's good bread; it's fluffy and well-baked!" Chris took another chop off his bread. "Nothing says healthy like whole grain!"

On another day, they sat at the steps that marked the beginning of their school's property, reading notes and looking at each other's sketches in their notebooks. It was the first major test of the year, and the two of them wanted to pass it with flying colors. Aviva was wearing a black baseball cap, and Chris thought it would be funny to knock the visor down into her face as she read over her notes.

"Hey!" she glared at him.

"What?" he laughed.

Chris was met with a baseball cap slap to the face.

The next day, the two of them had walked up the mossy steps at the school with their arms linked together, and the next, Chris was waiting at their usual spot before they walked to school together. He was particularly very tired that day. He paced back and forth, yawning as many other people passed. After what seemed like forever, Aviva walked up to him.

"What took you so long?" Chris began to walk with her.

"What do you mean?" Aviva asked.

"I was waiting for a whole twenty minutes!" Chris pointed out.

"You sound like your brother," Aviva giggled. "And besides, the house ran out of hot water, so I had to wait a bit before I showered."

"You could've tried a cold shower," Chris began. "They're better for the roots of your hair! Besides, it also prevents that cold blast of air when you come out the shower!"

"Yeah, no, I'll stick to my hot showers, thank you," Aviva whacked Chris on the arm.

On another day, the two of them were studying together in a quiet spot as the spring sun cast its rays onto a light green scenery. School had just ended, so Chris and Aviva decided to sit near the mossy steps leading up to the school's property to look at a review. As Chris began reciting the notes, Aviva glanced at his face. The times had changed, and Chris looked...how did he look? They had been friends for so long, she didn't know what to think about him. Aviva looked down to her lap, shifting uncomfortably. What was wrong with her? This was her best friend; she couldn't think he was _cute, _could she?

Chris glanced at her briefly, then back to his notes. Taking a double take, he looked over to her.

"Hey, is anything wrong?" Chris asked. "You're a bit squirmy today."

"Oh, it's nothing!" Aviva shook her head.

The next day, they decided to play soccer in that courtyard where it all started. The two of them had grown, their abilities more advanced. After a while, they sat down, both of them trying to catch their breath. Aviva began to fan herself. Maybe it was a bad idea to play soccer with jackets on.

"Hey, you okay?" Chris began to wipe Aviva's forehead with his sleeve. "You look a bit hot."

"Hey, get your sweaty hand away from my face!" Aviva giggled.

Chris didn't give up. Much to Aviva's dismay, he kept gently pressing the end of his sleeve to her forehead for a short while. Then, he began to peel off his jacket and fan himself with his shirt. Aviva found herself staring at the scene.

Another day, it was pouring rain all of a sudden. Chris and Aviva were already under the shelter of the school's overhangs, but another girl with wavy black locks and glasses ran through the rain, using a notebook as an umbrella as she jogged to the overhang Chris and Aviva were at. This girl caught Chris' eye, and Chris turned to look at her. Aviva noticed him stopping and found herself looking at this other girl, deciding to look at Chris before the girl could make eye contact with Aviva. Chris waved shyly, but he received nothing in return. Aviva only looked at Chris and started to walk away, wanting to draw a curtain on this hellish scene. Chris slowly turned, taking tiny steps after Aviva as he continued to watch this girl.

However, his feelings were unrequited. The girl with the glasses only smirked.

The day after that, the two of them walked into a lounge to look over a script of sorts. Chris messed with Aviva's hair, but Aviva returned the favor by standing behind him and kicking him in the behind. They plopped down on a bench near the windows of the lounge and read over the script. A girl with rather odd fashion senses and clothing habits sat not too far from them.

"Hey, look at this line!" Chris laughed. "Looks like the drama teacher should use spelling and grammar checks, huh?"

Aviva read the typo over and laughed with Chris. Then walked in the girl from the rain in the glasses. She sat down next to the girl with ridiculous styles. Chris looked over Aviva to stare at the girl, Aviva following his gaze, but found himself making eye contact with the girl in illegal-fashion design. The girl brought a finger up to her lips, hooking it as if she would bite it in an attempt of seduction. Aviva only faced Chris again, ready to burst into laughter. Chris looked away quickly, covering his face in his hand as Aviva lost it. Chris tried to make a final attempt to glance at the girl, but only the oddly-dressed girl was staring back. Aviva let out a loud laughter as Chris shook his head in embarrassment.

As it turned out, the girl in the glasses found it funny as well.

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><p>"Please?" Chris held out the note in a small envelope. "Please give the note to her?"<p>

Aviva knew what was inside. It was a letter confessing Chris' love and a request for date to Adrianna, the girl in the glasses running from the rain that day.

"No! You do it yourself!" Aviva denied it.

She didn't want to give the note to Adrianna in case she returned those feelings to Chris.

"C'mon!" Chris grabbed Aviva's arm and jammed the envelope into her hand.

"Fine!" Aviva rolled her eyes.

"Thanks! You're the greatest!" Chris beamed as he ran off.

It wasn't like Chris to be so jittery - that was usually Martin's job - but why make such a move like it? Aviva admitted it, she was jealous.

Adrianna was working on a crossword puzzle from class, sitting on a bench that greeted the top of the steps. She didn't even look up to acknowledge Aviva. As Aviva walked past her, Aviva crammed the love letter into her jacket's pocket as she recollected a time she was angry at Chris.

_Aviva walked up to their usual meeting place, wanting to try something new. Her hair was in high pigtails and she put on red lipstick. Chris saw it and burst into laughter. With a huff, Aviva had stomped home to change clothes and hairstyle and to remove the lipstick. _

Aviva was _so _angry that day at Chris, but that day was _nothing _compared to this.

Chris waited by a set of stairs that was near the entrance of the school. Adrianna had to pass by here, and Chris would receive her reply there. He was pacing nervously around, wondering if she obliged or rejected him. Once she saw Adrianna ascending the steps, his hopes soaring. However, much to his dismay, Adrianna walked right past him. It took Chris a moment to accept the fact that maybe she didn't like the message, or something.

Aviva and Chris were sitting next to each other at the end of the stairs. Chris was moping around, not really talking like he would, only about how Adrianna rejected him without saying a word. Aviva could only remember herself walking past Adrianna and shoving the letter back into her pocket before Adrianna could noticed. She couldn't help but feel bad. She had done it in an act of jealousy. It wasn't fair, she didn't let Chris have a chance. Aviva couldn't stand to see Chris so upset.

So, the very next day, Aviva grabbed a mopey Chris' arms and dragged him to Adrianna. This was the only way to fix things.

"Hey, Adrianna!" Aviva piped up, allowing the girl to stand. "I want you to meet my friend, Chris!"

"Hello, Chris," Adrianna smiled coldly, or maybe it was just her.

Either way, Aviva was finally content. She had made up for what she had done for Chris!

Later that day, the three of them had decided to look at some notes. Aviva sat between Chris and Adrianna subconsciously. They opened their notebooks, Chris holding his out to the two girls.

"Hey, look at this," Chris pointed to the scribbles on the page, the two girls reading after his finger.

The very next day, they were back to where they were yesterday, except that day, Chris sat in the middle between Aviva and Adrianna. The oddly dressed girl tried to approach Chris. Aviva only laughed as Chris buried his face into his notebook. After a while Adrianna and Chris shared a geometry workbook as they viewed a few problems together. Aviva only looked after them with a blank expression, yet jealousy burning inside.

The following day, Chris and Adrianna were all alone come lunchtime. Aviva had decided to be apart from them. She couldn't stand it, yet she didn't want to ruin Chris' chances, or let Chris know she was jealous. In her absence, Adrianna laid her head on Chris' shoulder.

After finals, many students crowded to see their rankings for the whole school year. School was coming to a close, and soon, the two friends would part ways. Aviva knew she would get 1st place, and she knew her college was different from Chris'. Aviva had aspired to be an inventor and engineer, and that's where she was heading, towards the best college for her while Chris took a turn for the animal world like his older brother. They were going to two very different places.

As Aviva wandered around the buildings of the school she had been to for many long years, memories started flooding. Playing soccer, Chris knocking her visor down that one time, munching on perfectly baked bread, it was all there, and she had to leave it all behind.

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><p>Aviva, with her bags and everything, waited for the bus to take her to the airport. Chris, however, ran up to her with his belongings. It was a cold autumn day, school starting very soon. He gently tapped her on the head, then turning away like it wasn't him, something he had picked up from Martin.<p>

"Chris!" Aviva exclaimed.

"Hey! I'm glad I caught up to you!" Chris smiled.

"Really? How did things go with Adrianna?" Aviva asked.

"Oh, that was a long time ago. I didn't expect things to last very long," Chris shook his head. "Besides, I...I've been meaning to tell you..."

Chris took off his green scarf and wrapped it around Aviva's neck. The shade of olive green his scarf was didn't exactly blend with the bright pale yellow jacket Aviva wore, but she accepted it anyway.

"...I've loved you for so many years," Chris finished his sentence. "And I was afraid that if I told you, you would be afraid of me, but if I didn't tell you, it would've been something I regretted not saying. All the times we've spent together, I'll always remember."

"Really?" Aviva breathed as Chris pulled her into a hug.

"Have you ever loved me?" Chris asked.

"I..." Aviva was speechless. All along, Chris had loved _her. _"...I never stopped loving you..."

"Where were you?" Chris pulled back just a bit to look at her.

"Chris..." Aviva looked up into his eyes. "I was right here, all along."

The two of them embraced each other one last time as Aviva's bus came.

"Good bye, Aviva," Chris hugged her tighter. "I hope we'll see each other again one day."

"Me too," Aviva sighed. "Good bye, Chris!"

Aviva waved to him as she boarded the bus, and as the bus pulled away, Chris waved goodbye to Aviva.

With a sigh in her chest, Aviva stared out the window of the bus making its way to the airport. Now that she was alone, her thoughts were only memories. The moment Chris and Aviva first interacted, when Chris returned her backpack, when Chris wanted to play soccer with her...

Tears began to pool in her eyes.

...in middle school, when Aviva had tried something a bit over the top and Chris had laughed...

Aviva found herself smiling with the Chris in that memory, but that happiness would not last. All of it, all of the fun she had had with Chris, her best friend, the one she had loved for many long years, was all in the past. They would never see each other again after that.

_'C'mon, Aviva, pull yourself together!' _Aviva scolded herself.

Here she was, crying on a bus on the way to the airport. How embarrassing! She had never felt so alone before, though. Everybody around her was chatting, having fun. Chris would've been here, making sure Aviva was never bored.

It had taken Chris so long to confess his love to her because he had thought Aviva didn't love him when really, she was right in front of him the whole time. Chris wouldn't want her crying over him, over memories long past. He would've wanted her to look forward at her future in engineering and inventing. Aviva thought about him pursuing his dream of meeting all sorts of animals around the world, rare or common, domesticated or wild, and how Chris would be thinking about her and how he would think of the same thing.

With a weight lifted off her chest, Aviva wiped off the last of her tears as the bus pulled into the entrance of the airport. With one deep breath, Aviva grabbed all of her bags and stepped off the bus. Around her, all sorts of activity was going on, but Aviva focused on her. Pulling Chris' scarf up to her nose, Aviva walked into the airport, ready for the future yet still clinging to the tiny hope that she and Chris would meet again one day. But how could zoology and engineering met together? Bioengineers existed, but that wasn't enough.

Aviva was hoping to finally break that boundary between nature and machinery in those moments as she walked through the doors of the airport.

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><p>"Miss Corcovado, we were hoping to find somebody that wanted to mix wildlife and engineering," the man nodded.<p>

The now 22 year old inventor nodded, loosening the olive green scarf around her neck. When she was nervous, Aviva felt strangely hot, yet she never took off the scarf.

"I'd be happy to help," she smiled warmly.

"You've passed this college with flying colors, and passed biology many times. With it, we met up with young and well known zoologists," the professor continued, "to help further this idea of yours. Of course, they agreed."

"Who are they?" Aviva asked.

"Well, you know Koki, I know," the professor nodded. "And James."

"You mean, Jimmy?" Aviva asked again.

"Yes, whatever he likes to call himself nowadays," the professor sighed. "They are all interested in the world of technology meeting wildlife."

The man led Aviva to a set of double doors unbeknownst to the young woman. She spent four years at this college, yet never knew this place existed. Due to college, Aviva lost most of her shyness. Most of it. After all, she was meeting _world famous _zoologists! The prof always underestimated things. Aviva stared at the flower.

"Aviva, please meet zoologists Martin and Chris Kratt," the professor pushed open a door, prompting Aviva to walk through it.

_Chris Kratt..._

The first thing she spotted was blue and green at her upper peripheral vision.

"Aviva?" a too familiar voice prompted her to look up.

"Chris?"

Aviva was answered with a powerful hug from the man in green.

"You kept the scarf...!" Chris' tears fell onto Aviva's jacket.

"I wouldn't have taken it off, minus bathing, of course," Aviva hugged him back tighter.

"Where did you go?" Chris pulled away.

"Oh, Chris," Aviva chuckled, shaking her head, "I was right here all along."

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><p><strong>AN: Aaaaaaaand that's all for me, folks! Just thought I'd get this out. If you would like to watch the music video I based this story on, just type in the URL for YouTube and paste the following identifying add on thingy below :**

/watch?v=ccvHEbXhg2g

**Thank you for reading! Please leave a review for me, if you don't mind! Tell me what you thought of this story, what you thought of the music video, anything! Thank you! May your dreams be prosperous as your future! ~Secretly Cresselia**


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